Are You Okay?
by Amyeyl
Summary: Something's wrong with Seiji. (shounen ai -Ryo/Seiji-, dark, death) Don't read if you don't like unhappy things.


Disclaimer: Nope, not mine  
Warnings: Shounen Ai, dark, death  
Summary: Something's wrong with Seiji. (Ryo/Seiji, past Ryo/Touma and Ryo/Nasuti, unrequited Touma/Seiji)  
A/N: This didn't turn out quite the way I wanted, but oh well. It's for a pic challenge thing from Libellule. You can see the pic at her website, thedragonflysleeps.tripod.com. First off, let me say, I don't like the Ryo/Seiji pairing. I don't really like Ryo. But I do like Libellule's Ryo/Seiji stories. Don't read if you don't like unhappy things.

Speaking of unhappy things, that seems to be all I write. I've got 2? fics that I wouldn't consider unhappy, and 1 that's funny. The funny one's only funny because that was a requirement for the contest. In other words, I want to write something happy (in the traditional sense of the word). I don't seem be to able to do this on my own, so I'm asking for help. Someone give me a fic idea or something with constraints? Please? Don't care overly much about which show or the pairings, though it'd have to be something I've seen and something that doesn't make me want to inflict pain on any of the involved parties. So, e-mail me, leave a review, or sign the guestbook (depending on where you're reading this). Thanks, Amyeyl.

  
  
Are You Okay?  
by Amyeyl

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The screaming kept them up at night. It kept all of them up, every night. It had gotten to the point that Jun was no longer allowed to spend the night. Rather than asking them to move out, Nasuti had done so herself. She'd still visit them during the day, but she'd never stay 'til nightfall.

The four of them sat huddled around the kitchen table, mugs of coffee warming their hands. Touma and Ryo glanced repeatedly towards the stairs. After all this time they still hoped things would get better. Shin and Shu kept their heads bowed, staring at nothing or perhaps the dark liquid in their cups. They rarely drank the coffee, it didn't do much for them anymore. But it did offer a slight comfort with its presence. It was a scapegoat, something to blame for the late night wakefulness other than the screams from upstairs.

Shin had thought about leaving once. It hurt his heart so much to stay. He'd gone out and gotten a hotel room for the night, looking forward to a night of sleep. It proved to be fruitless. Even half a city away he could still hear the screams. They weren't truly there, but they reverberated through his body, through the link their armors shared. There was no escape for the four of them. They had failed their teammate, and now they must suffer along with him.

Shu had suggested once that they commit him. Touma and Ryo had been against the idea from the start. For weeks they had been less than friendly to the boy. When, after his night away, Shin agreed with the others, Shu gave up on the idea. Now there was nothing to be done. Nothing but to bear it.

Ryo set down his cup and stood up.

"I'm going to go try and calm him down a little."

"Ryo, you know it won't..."

"Let him go, Shin," Touma cut the other boy off as their leader left the kitchen. Shin sighed and stood to empty the contents of his cup into the sink.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryo slowly made his way up the stairs, wondering what he'd say to the blonde tonight. If only he could find the right combination of words... maybe, just maybe he'd be able to bring Seiji back to them, back to him. The screams were louder now, a few more steps and he'd be able to make sense of the garbled words he knew the blonde was saying.

"No!...I'm sorry!...Please no more!...I'm not...!.... I don't want...!..."

Ryo sighed, leaning his head against the door. He listened to the blonde's screams and pleas for a moment longer, preparing himself to go into the room. He opened the door slowly and stepped into the room. He was prepared for the mass of flesh and bones that launched itself at him. He caught Seiji's too thin wrists up in one hand, and lifted him off the floor with the other in an attempt to impede his attack.

"Seiji? Seiji, it's me, Ryo." He leaned backwards to avoid the blonde's gnashing teeth. "Seiji!" The blonde kicked at him, throwing his weight around in the dark-haired boy's arms. He managed to get Ryo off balance and the two of them toppled to the floor. Seiji hit the floor hard, serving as a cushion for Ryo. As he lay slightly stunned, Ryo was able to get him turned over onto his stomach and secure his hands behind his back. He leaned down near the blonde's ear and whispered to him.

"Seiji, it's me. It's Ryo. No one's here to hurt you, no one's going to make you do anything." The blonde screamed again and struggled against Ryo's hold. "It's Ryo, it's Ryo." The boy on the floor seemed to calm down.

"Ryo. Ryo, Seiji... Seiji, Ryo. Ryo."

"Yes, that's right. Ryo and Seiji, no one else. Can you get up?" The blonde nodded slightly and Ryo slowly climbed off of his back. He helped the blonde to his feet and smiled up at him. "See, everything's going to be okay. It's just the..."

The blonde whimpered and pulled away from him. He ran across the room and crawled onto the bed, curling up in the corner where it met the wall. He rubbed his head against the wall before beginning a light, continuous banging. Ryo went after him, and tried to prevent him from hurting himself further. Being restrained caused Seiji to begin screaming again. Ryo released him and the screaming died down.

Standing beside the bed, biting his lip in frustration, Ryo was at a loss.

"In my head.. he's in my head." Every few words would bring another thump. It was like he was still screaming. "Get out. Get out. Getout. Getoutgetoutgetoutgetout..." Now he was pulling at the blonde hair as well. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Ryo climbed back onto the bed and knelt a few inches away from the hysterical boy.

"Seiji, there's no one in your head," he said softly. "There's no one there, not anymore. There's no one telling you to do anything. There's no one who can make you do anything." Seiji stopped and turned to look at him, slowly dragging his fingers out of his hair.

"Ryo," he whispered, "you don't understand. He's there. He's there and he tells me to do things. Bad things. And he won't go away. But butbutbut.. but if I scream.. the screams, they block him out. I can't hear him, so he can't do anything."

"That's why you scream Seiji?"

"It hurts..." he curled back into himself, hiding from everything. "He's still there Ryo. The others are there too."

"What others?"

"The ones he made me hurt. The ones he wants me to hurt now. The ones he wants me to hurt tomorrow. You and the others, you're there too. He wants me to hurt you."

"Who, Seiji, who?"

"Him, he... No, no more." Ryo glanced towards the window, the sun was starting to rise. Seiji relaxed on the bed, coming out of his tight curl. Ryo sighed and stood up. He watched as the blonde drifted off to sleep. Staring at the slight body, he wondered how much longer this could go on.

Seiji slept all day. Nothing they had tried so far had been able to bring him out of it until he woke on his own at sunset. Then it was a battle to try and get him to eat something before the screaming began. Shin usually insisted on attempting this. Judging by the amount of weight Seiji had lost in the past few months, Shin had been doing a better than expected job. Though he never came out of the encounters unscathed. At the very least, Seiji seemed to be at peace while asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryo trudged back downstairs, thinking over what Seiji had said. The others were still in the kitchen, waiting for him to return. When he entered the room, he was met with expectant stares. They turned to ones of concern when he didn't say anything.

"Ryo?" Touma began, "are you okay? What happened with Seiji?" Ryo slumped into the chair he'd recently vacated.

"He said there's someone in his head, someone that wants him to do bad things and hurt people." The expressions on his friends' faces varied, and Ryo hurried to continue before they started asking more questions. "He didn't say much else, but he said that he couldn't hear whoever it was when he screamed."

"Who does he say is in his head?" Shu asked.

"He didn't say who it was."

"Do you believe him?" Shin asked.

"Do I believe it's what he thinks, or do I believe that it's true?" Shin shrugged. "I think it's what he believes. Do I think it's true? I honestly can't say. It seems hard to believe, but so has a lot of what we've dealt with. I don't want it to be true, but it very well could be..."

"Ryo?" Touma asked, somewhat distractedly.

"What?"

"Why'd he talk to you?"

"What do you mean?" Ryo asked, confused.

"I've tried to talk to him before, plenty of times. Even when he was more coherent than he is now, he'd never talk to me about it. He's never talked to any of us. Before tonight, he wouldn't talk to you either." Touma stood up quickly, knocking his chair back. He leaned across the table, glaring angrily at Ryo. " So why tonight? Huh? Why you?!"

"Touma... calm down..."

"Answer me, Ryo! Why'd he talk to you all of a sudden? Why, dammit?!" Shin placed his hand lightly on Touma's arm, trying to calm him down. Touma shrugged off the hand and stormed out of the room. Soon after the front door was opened and slammed shut.

"Ryo, are you okay?" The dark haired boy nodded shakily before standing up as well.

"I think I'm gonna go for a walk..." Ryo left the room, and the front door closed for a second time.

"What was that about?" Shu asked, hoping Shin could clear things up. Shin just shook his head, he had no idea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later found Touma in what used to be one of Seiji's favorite places to meditate. Ryo found him there as well, sitting beneath a tree, and approached him cautiously.

"Tou-" he was cut off as Touma began to speak.

"He loved you, you know."

"What? What are you talking about?" Touma pulled his legs closer to his chest and pressed his cheek against them, looking away from Ryo.

"Seiji, he loved you."

"How do you know that?" Ryo knelt in front of him, a look of pain on his face.

"He told me."

"When?" Try as he might, Ryo couldn't keep the eagerness out of his voice. This caused Touma to frown up at him. He then looked away again and continued speaking.

"After we brought him home, that last time from New York. We were... together a few times afterwards. It was my fault, really, taking advantage of the state he was in. But he blamed himself, said he'd been using me because he was afraid to be alone. He apologized, said he was sorry that he'd led me on. Told me he was in love with you." Ryo moved to sit beside him and pulled the blue haired boy into his arms.

He felt torn by what he'd just learned. He was overjoyed at the news. He'd dreamed of the taller blonde since their first meeting. But he felt sorry for Touma, who he knew felt the same way about Seiji. They'd comforted one another during the first battle when Seiji had been held prisoner. To find out the blonde's feelings now was bittersweet. Almost all chance of a relationship was gone now, with the state he was in... What was he going to do?

"Why don't we go back to the house?" Touma nodded slowly and Ryo helped him to his feet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next few nights in the house were increasingly quieter as Ryo spent the entirety of his nights with Seiji. Ryo had been able to quiet him down before the sun rose, and the others were treated to a few hours of sleep. Half a month later, the blonde was quiet soon enough for Shin and Shu to get a full eight hours. Touma had never been one to get much sleep, though he was able to get as much as he desired.

One night, after the others had gone to sleep, he decided to check up on Seiji and Ryo. He hadn't seen his friend awake since He'd told Ryo of the blonde's feelings for him. Ryo had said he thought it would be for the best if the others didn't try to see the blonde yet. He moved quietly down the hall and knocked on the closed door to his old room. When Seiji's screaming had begun he'd been forced to move down the hall.

Ryo opened the door a crack, enough for him to see out, but not enough for anyone to see into the room. He looked up at Touma in surprised confusion.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering... can I see him?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea..." Ryo trailed off, looking back into the room. Seiji was sitting quietly on the bed, staring expectantly at him. After Touma had told him how Seiji had felt, Ryo took it upon himself to make his own feelings known to the blonde. Recently, the blonde had allowed Ryo to touch him, and a few nights ago they had shared their first kiss. Ryo didn't know how seeing Touma would affect Seiji, and he was reluctant to allow the blue haired boy to do so.

"Please?" Ryo looked back at him. Touma seemed so desperate. He thought back to the nights the two had shared in each other's arms. He thought of all the comfort he'd received from his friend. It couldn't hurt, could it?

"Let me ask him.." He closed the door and crossed the room to kneel in front of Seiji. The blonde smiled at him and leaned down to kiss him. Ryo pulled back slowly and looked up at him. This wasn't the Seiji he'd known before. The proud warrior, the patient listener, the shy boy, the good friend... the boy he'd fallen in love with. He seemed more a lifeless doll. Programmed to respond to certain things, and all other actions controlled by someone or something, somewhere else. But it was a change from the screaming thing he'd become. Ryo could only hope he was making progress.

"Seiji?" The blonde's attention had never wavered from him to begin with, and he wondered if calling him made any difference. The boy hadn't really spoken to him since that first night. "Seiji, Touma's outside. He wants to know if he can see you. Do you want to see him?"

"Ryo..." Seiji said. Ryo was a little surprised that he'd responded. He shook his head though, and pointed to himself.

"No, Seiji. I'm Ryo." The blonde nodded enthusiastically.

"Ryo."

"Right, I'm Ryo. But Touma," he pointed towards the door, "is outside and wants to see you." Here he pointed to Seiji's chest. "Do _you_ want to see _Touma_?" He gestured back towards the door.

"Ryo..." Seiji whispered again. Ryo stood up, pulling the blonde with him. He led him to the door, and opened it.

"See Seiji, Touma..." Seiji recoiled, whimpering, and backed away from the open door. Ryo hurried after him, and Touma stared at the scene in front of him. Was Seiji afraid? Of him?

"Touma, come in and close the door." Ryo ordered, and Touma followed mechanically. As soon as the door closed, Seiji calmed down, relaxing into Ryo's arms.

"Seiji?" Touma asked softly. Seiji looked up, confused at hearing his name coming from someone else.

"It's Touma, Seiji," Ryo whispered to him, "He's worried about you."

"Tou...ma..." Seiji said, and stood up. He crossed the room to stand in front of the blue haired boy. Raising his arms, he trailed his fingers across Touma's face. "Touma... not Ryo..."

"Seiji?"

"Shh..." The blonde's fingers moved further down Touma's face to his throat. His hands encircled Touma's neck and he squeezed, pressing in with his thumbs. Touma's eyes bulged in surprise, and he forced a small sound past the blonde's fingers. He raised his own hands to the blondes and tried in vain to pull him off. As he dropped to his knees, Seiji was pulled from him.

That night, the screaming started again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryo had been up all night, trying to quiet Seiji. The others had come in when the noise first started and had quickly helped Touma out. With the approach of dawn, Seiji quieted and drifted off to sleep. Ryo had done the same. Now he looked blearily at the clock, wondering what time it was. 3:30 pm. Nine and a half hours... Sitting up, Ryo rubbed at his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. He turned to look at Seiji, who should still be asleep, only to find that he wasn't there. In fact, he wasn't in the room. The door was open. He got up and ran to the doorway, looking down the hall both ways.

"GUYS?!" he hurried to Shin and Shu's room and found it empty. As he turned to head to Touma's new room the other three made it to he top of the stairs. They looked ready for anything, including the return of the dynasty.

"What is it, Ryo?" Shu asked in a whisper.

"Seiji's gone!"

"Seiji's gone?" the three chorused.

"Gone where?" Touma asked, his hand involuntarily going to his throat.

"I don't know. He was gone when I woke up just now." The four eyed the closed doors warily.

"We need to go look for him." Shin said, dropping his defensive stance. "Ryo, you stay here in case he comes back."

"But-"

"No, that's the best plan." Touma agreed with Shin. "Come on you two." The three left Ryo to wait on his own.

After an hour of nothing, he figured it couldn't hurt to look around the house property. He wasn't _really_ leaving. As he started out the door, something occurred to him and he ran upstairs. Pulling back the curtains in Seiji's bedroom, he found the blonde asleep out on the small balcony. Relieved, he opened the door and stepped outside. He bent down to pick up the blonde but came up short.

Blood...

Blood coated Seiji's hands and stained his clothes. Worried, Ryo hurriedly got the blonde boy inside and into the bathroom. Resting him on the floor, against the tub, Ryo looked the body over for any signs of injury. He was confused, albeit relieved, when he couldn't find any. He took a damp washcloth and cleaned the boy's hands. Nothing there either. Where'd the blood come from? Ryo didn't want to think about that.

After changing Seiji and settling him into bed, Ryo went to call the others and let them know that he'd found Seiji. He didn't tell them about the blood.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The four of them sat around the kitchen table. None, save Shu, had touched their dinner, and even he hadn't made much of a dent.

"I just don't understand it." Shu said softly.

"Last night, he attacked Touma. And now, this morning, he turns up missing. What's going on with him Ryo?"

"I honestly don't know." Ryo felt bad for not telling them about the blood he'd found on Seiji's hands and clothes, but at the same time he thought it was for the best. The other three were already worried. Shin and Shu hadn't always approached the situation in the best way, and Seiji _had_ attacked Touma. Ryo wasn't sure if they could be trusted with the information now. Seiji was his responsibility now, and he'd make sure that he took care of him.

Touma unconsciously fingered the bruises on his throat, and Ryo flinched. Shin noticed and smiled sadly.

"You don't have to feel guilty, Ryo. It's not your fault this is happening. We're all in this together." The others nodded.

"Now," Touma smiled slightly at his friends, "let's not let Shin's cooking go to waste, eh?" Nods all around again, and dinner progressed as usual.

"By the way," Shin commented a while later, "I saw Nasuti while I was out looking for Seiji. If it's alright, she was thinking of coming to visit us next week. I think it might do us some good"

"That'll be nice." Shu agreed.

Ryo nodded absently. Nasuti hadn't visited them for a while. It would be nice to see her again, wouldn't it? The last time he'd seen her, he'd pretty much given up on Seiji and had been almost ready to move on. He'd confided this to the girl and been somewhat pleased at her reaction. While being comforting, she had let him know that she'd harbored feelings for him for a long while. In his eyes, she'd been second only to Seiji, and her confession left him contemplating a relationship with her.

As it was, they'd spent a few hours alone together in a motel not far from the house. They'd parted as friends, and he'd promised to think about things. In the last few weeks, he'd almost completely forgotten about his promise. Obviously they couldn't be together now, he just hoped she could understand that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The days passed by, and every one of them would begin with Ryo waking to find Seiji out of bed. The blonde would be curled up outside on his balcony, blood staining his clothes and skin. None of the blood ever seemed to belong to him. Ryo was past worried, but he still didn't feel as if he should tell the others.

Seiji hadn't been able to tell him anything either. Most days, the only thing he said was "Ryo", but for now they all took it as an improvement over the screaming. After the incident with Touma, none of them were too eager to go into the room, but they still ventured inside on occasion. Seiji never showed any signs of hostility towards Shin or Shu, but he would glare from time to time if Touma got too close to Ryo. Touma made it a point not to do so.

The night before Nasuti's arrival had Ryo worried again. He paced back and forth in the room he'd practically moved into. Seiji sat on the bed, watching him like always.

"Ryo..." Ryo turned to look at the blonde and was surprised to see him smiling.

"What is it, Seiji?" Seiji reached out for him and Ryo drifted closer. Catching a hold of his wrist, the blonde leaned back on the bed and drew Ryo over him. "Seiji?" He was silenced by a whispered 'shh' and a finger to his lips.

The finger was quickly replaced by Seiji's lips as the blonde pulled him lower. Ryo held himself up, arms on either side of Seiji's head. He wasn't sure if Seiji wanted what he hoped he wanted, but he'd let himself enjoy whatever Seiji was willing to give. His fingers moved of their own accord to tangle in the blonde's hair.

Ryo sat up slowly and studied Seiji's face. His lips were parted as he panted softly and his eyes seemed to be staring through him. Ryo brought a hand out of Seiji's hair and trailed it along the curve of his ear then across his face towards his lips. Seiji's tongue flicked out to lick one of Ryo's fingers before his mouth closed around it and began a gentle suckling.

Ryo pulled the wet digit out of the blonde's mouth and left a wet streak down across his bottom lip and chin to his throat. Here Ryo's lips and tongue picked up. He sucked and licked and the pale flesh, causing the blonde to make the most delicious sounds. Lifting his head, he pressed his lower body into Seiji's and ground himself against him.

"Is this what you want, Seiji?" He barely managed to voice the question. He had to know for sure, but he didn't think he could handle a negative reply. He needn't have worried for the blonde pulled his face back to him for another kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryo woke the next morning to find Seiji still in bed with him. More so, the blonde was still naked and pressed against him. Ryo's heart jumped for joy. Last night had arguably been the best night of his life. He continued to bask in the afterglow of his night with Seiji for a little longer.

Sadly, it wasn't too much longer. He had to get up and prepare himself to deal with Nasuti. She'd be here in... he glanced at the clock. An hour. He gently removed Seiji's arms, and with a sigh, heaved himself up and out of bed.

He groaned as he shuffled his way into the bathroom. His muscles were sore and his back hurt like hell. He reached back to rub at his shoulder, and the skin there felt weird. He quickened his steps into the small room and flicked on the light. Turning around, he looked over his shoulder at the reflection of his back in the mirror.

"Fuck..." Seiji's scratches last night must've been deeper than he thought. His back was covered in angry red welts and larger dark scabs. With gritted teeth, he prepared himself for the task of taking care of his wounded back.

45 minutes later, he was hurrying down the hallway to his own bedroom to pull on some clean clothes. He checked himself in the mirror and deemed himself presentable. He was dressed and ready to go downstairs with just enough time to grab some toast or something before Nasuti was due to arrive. On his way down, he paused to check in on Seiji and was pleased to find the blonde still sleeping soundly in bed.

As he walked down the stairs, he had to remind himself not to smile or do anything else post-sex-y that might give him away. He didn't want Touma to know that he'd actually slept with Seiji, and he'd be happy for the other two to remain completely oblivious to his building relationship with the blonde until things calmed down further.

"So you are alive." Shu commented from the couch in the living room as Ryo stepped off of the last stair.

"Yeah..." he nodded at the larger boy. "Nasuti's not here yet, is she?"

"Nope, not yet. The others were wondering where you were though. She's supposed to be here any minute, though, you know."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Shu." Shu nodded at him as he made his way into the kitchen. Touma and Shin were there. Touma was eating a late breakfast, and grinned at him when he entered. Ryo looked confused until he took note of Shin. The boy was upset, to say the least.

"Shin...? What's the matter?"

"I was just worried about you, Ryo. I expect it from Touma here, but you're usually up earlier than this. I knocked on the door a few times, but you didn't answer. I, ah... would've gone in to check on you, but I didn't want to disturb Seiji."

"So he was forced to stay down here, worried about you." Touma added helpfully. Ryo felt a little bad. Shin mothered all of them so much.

"And um.. oh, you're breakfast got cold, too. I can warm it up for you, if you'd like?" Ryo was about to protest, but decided against it at the look in Shin's eyes.

"Sure, thanks," he returned Shin's helpful smile, " I'm sorry to have worried you." Shin nodded absently, forgiving him as he went about warming Ryo's breakfast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just as Ryo set down his chopsticks, the door opened. Nasuti came in, a hand hovering over her eyes.

"I hope you're all decent, "she called out, 'cause I'm opening my eyes now." True to her word, she did so. She smiled brightly at the four boys who came to greet her. In a distant part of her mind, she'd hoped Seiji would be there as well. Apparently he'd left the house once, and was slowly getting better. A tiny part of her had dared believe he'd be well enough by now to see her. It didn't seem to be the case, but she hadn't really believed it to begin with.

The five of them moved to couches and chairs in the living room, and caught up with each other. She was surprised to learn that it had been Ryo who was now the primary care giver for Seiji. But she was also proud of him for being able to handle the responsibility. They talked for a few hours, before Shin declared that Ryo should show her the new garden out back.

"But Shin..." The boy hushed him and ushered the two outside. As the door closed behind them, Ryo laughed nervously. As the hour had grown later, he'd hoped that Nasuti would be leaving before they had any time alone together. Now that it was forced upon him, he didn't know what to say.

"It seems we're alone." Nasuti said, smiling at the nervous boy.

"Um, yeah..." he replied awkwardly as Nasuti moved closer to him. She leaned in to kiss him, and he backed up quickly, tripping over... something, he wasn't sure. Though it left him sprawled on the ground with Nasuti standing about him.

"Ryo? What's wrong?" she asked softly, her voice trembling. Ryo scrambled to his feet and placed a hand lightly against her shoulder.

"Well, you know how I told you I needed time to think about things...." he trailed off, hoping she'd get what he was trying to say.

"You've decided you don't love me..." she whispered. Her eyes begged him to contradict her.

"It's not that I don't care for you, Nasuti-"

"But you don't love me." He looked away from her and nodded. She grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her again, and pressed a light kiss to his lips. "A souvenir, then." With that, she moved away from him and headed back into the house. Ryo remained outside.

Shin came outside a few moments later, an upset expression on his face. He found Ryo slumped on the ground, not far from the house.

"What happened? Nasuti hurried out of here almost in tears. What'd you say to her?"

"I told her I didn't love her..." Ryo said, staring at the ground.

"What? But I thought... oh dear... Ryo, I'm sorry. But I thought, after the last time the two of you were together..."

"I thought so then too. But I don't feel that way about her." Shin nodded slowly.

"Do you need help getting up?"

"No. I think I'm gonna sit here for a while." Shin nodded and made his way back inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Ryo returned to the room he shared with Seiji, the blonde was gone. A twinge of worry hit him. He wasn't sure how long he'd been outside, but he was sure it was longer than any amount of time he'd left Seiji alone before. He made his way across the room towards the door that lead to the balcony. He expected to find Seiji outside, asleep. He hoped that was what he would find. Fear trickled along his spine as he reached the other side of the room.

He pulled open the door and looked outside, dreading what he'd see. Seiji wasn't there. He turned and hurried out of the room and down the stairs. The fear that raced along his back became an intense pain. He was sure some of the deeper scratches on his back had reopened. He grabbed his coat and was at the door before he'd finished putting it on. He dimly remembered to put his shoes on before going out.

It was this delay that allowed his friends to find him before he left.

"Ryo, what's going on?" Shin asked, already pulling on his coat.

"Seiji's gone missing again."

"Did you check-"

"Yes. He's not there." Shoes on, Ryo didn't waste anymore time. He took off at a run away from the house and towards town. He thought about using his sub armor to hasten his search, but decided against it. He thought it best not to draw any unneeded attention to himself. Back at the house, the others had decided on the very same thing.

Reaching out with everything he had, Ryo scoured the city for any sign of Seiji. He was surprised at how easy it was. It was almost as if the blonde wanted him to find him, and perhaps he did. Ryo entered the dark alley slowly, afraid of what he might find. What if Seiji'd been hurt?

He spotted the blonde leaning against the side of a brick building. Cautiously he made his way over to him.

"Seiji? Seiji, it's Ryo." The blonde's pale eyes focused slowly on the dark haired boy in front of him.

"Ryo," he whispered. He slumped a bit against the wall, before catching and holding himself there. This put them almost at eye level with one another.

Ryo broke eye contact with the blonde for a moment to look him over. Once again, his clothes and hands were stained with blood. When he looked up again, Seiji was staring through him again. He raised his hands to angle Seiji's head in his direction.

"Seiji? Are you okay?" The way the blonde's eyes swam into focus again was slightly disturbing, as was the way they stared at him. Seiji smiled slightly then, and pushed himself off of the wall. He stumbled into Ryo's arms and stole a kiss while he tried to hold up the suddenly added weight.

"Ryo!" The sound of his name drew the boy's attention, and the lost the battle with a squirming Seiji. The two of them toppled to the ground, Ryo landing on the bottom this time. Seiji shifted on top of them, his golden hair blocking the view of Touma's slightly disgusted face. "What the hell are you doing?" the blue haired boy demanded.

"I.." Ryo struggled for a moment to speak past a mouthful of hair. "I was looking for Seiji...and..."

"I see you found him." Touma all but spat.

"Wha...?" Ryo pushed the whimpering blonde off of him and sat up. Touma pointed further down the alley, where Ryo hadn't looked. Shin and Shu were huddled around something on the ground. He freed himself from Seiji and hurried over.

On the ground lay the remains of what he thought to be a young woman, judging by the skirt the body wore. The skull was crushed and the chest had been torn out, so he couldn't be completely sure. He fought back the urge to vomit. Next to him, Shu was comforting a crying Shin and trying to hold back his own tears.

Seiji came up behind Ryo and draped himself across the shorter boy's back.

"Shin?" Ryo asked, confused. "What is it? Do we know..."

"Nasuti..." the crying boy managed to choke out.

"What?!" Upon closer inspection, Ryo could see that it was indeed the skirt the girl had been wearing when she'd come to visit them. The hair that lingered about the skull fragments was the right length and color. And just over there was the bag she'd brought with her. "Oh my god..." he whispered, the sounds barely loud enough to be heard by any present.

"You mean to tell me you didn't even notice her?!" Touma demanded, coming up behind him. Seiji turned his head to glare at the boy. Touma moved to stand with Shin and Shu, careful to never come within easy reach of the blonde. He did, however, continue his verbal attack. "And you," this directed at the blonde, "what the hell happened to you? What could make you do something like this?"

"What? What're you talking about Touma?"

"Put two and two together, Ryo! Who else could do something like this, besides one of us, huh? And look at him, he's covered in blood."

"And it's not the first time, either, is it?" Shin asked softly. "I've seen the blood in his clothes."

"You mean all those people on the news..." Shu started, and trailed off as he stared at Seiji.

"What? What people?" Ryo demanded.

"There's been one a day since..."

"Since the night he attacked me."

"Touma, how can you say that about him? You love him!" Touma shook his head sadly.

"I love who he was. Not...not that." he gestured to Seiji who was rubbing his cheek contently against Ryo's.

"I can't believe you. I can't believe any of you!"

"We need to go to the police, Ryo." Shin put in quietly.

"No! No! What are you thinking? He's our friend, we can't take him to the police!"

"He needs help at the very least." Shin added.

"I'm all the help he needs!" Ryo backed away from his friends, keeping Seiji behind him.

"Ryo" Shin.

"Hey, come on man..." Shu.

"Let them go." Touma. "Just let them go."

Ryo grabbed Seiji's wrist and ran.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ryo..." Ryo looked up from the television in one corner of the tiny room.

Seiji stood naked in the doorway that led to the even tinier balcony. Fresh blood glistened on his skin and in his hair, illuminated by the rising moon. The blonde stayed away longer each time, never returning now before nightfall. But Ryo was content, because every night the blonde would return to him. He was all Seiji needed.

"Our top story tonight, the number of victims continues to rise in a string of very gruesome mur-" Ryo turned off the annoying box and went to greet Seiji. Seiji leaned down into Ryo's waiting arms, and the dark haired boy placed soft kisses in the red splotched gold.

He was beginning to think Seiji looked his best in red.

Completed 5/26/03


End file.
